Can someone have a dental infection/abscess and not know about it?

[SheepGoesBaa]

Can someone have a dental infection/abscess and not know about it?

Just wondering.

I have an area in my gum, upper right, above one tooth and I floss and brush my teeth and recently gone low carb to cut out as much sugars as possible and the area always bleeds when flossing.

Family and friends all came down with colds this winter and surprisingly escaped getting any colds. I'm putting this down to cleaning up my diet and some supplements I'm taking, one of them supplement is a liposomal vitamin c. It delivers a high dose of vitamin c.

I've been feeling a salty taste in my mouth all day and what feels like phlegm towards the back of my mouth/throat. I'm thinking of its some sort of a dental infection or abscess. I looked in the mirror a few times but I can't see any pus.

OP, YES! I am a dental nurse and that is exactly what it sounds like....the infection is trapped in the root of your tooth and can't get out so it takes the path of least resistance which is the gum around the tip of the root...the taste you are experiencing is actually the pus draining out...
If I were you, I'd get to your dentist straightaway as you will probably need antibiotics for the infection and then a root canal, sorry to say.
I have seen patients who have ignored these symptoms and the infection affects the bone all around the tooth.
Good on you for cleaning up your diet! That is quite an accomplishment! Unfortunately though, dental problems can take YEARS to develop, so it probably started long ago.
Off to the dentist immediately, please...I'm begging you

OP, fingers crossed that it is just a gum infection, though and a good cleaning will clear it up....especially since you've had bleeding when you floss..which is usually a sign of unhealthy gums. Good luck!

Thanks JoJo,

I'm not a big fan of my dentist at all. I feel like I need to have something else, something more solid to tell him aside from a salty taste in the mouth.

It needs checking out
So book in. Might be something. Might be nothing
But better to be sure

I had a dental cleaning in December and a check up and a crown procedure done throughout the weeks of January.

My dentist read out numbers to the assistant. He hasn't diagnosed gum disease in me. He did say they tend to bleed towards the back. I knew that. There's one particular tooth where the bleeding happens.

I was at the dentist last week for the placement of a permanent crown. The bleeding gums is in a different area of the mouth. I will say the bleeding is very little when I brush my teeth. The bleeding happens when I floss. Not a lot of bleeding either.

I do suspect that there's something going on under the gums and I'm paranoid about my teeth and gums. I feel like I need to have something else to go on aside from a mild salty taste in the mouth. My taste has improved a lot since going low carb and adding in an oral probiotic.

I gloved my hand and I'm not able to feel any lump and there's no pain coming from my mouth. There's a slight tenderness but no pain.

Wow, OP, you sound like a dental hygienist's dream patient. Good on you for taking such good care of your teeth! Most people don't know how our oral health can affect our whole body.
I'm am so impressed that you are taking such good care of yourself which will definitely prevent so many health issues in your later years.
When you said bleeding in you first post, I imagined the condition of the average patient of mine would be...
Puffy gums, bleeding when just touching them. Thank goodness come to find out you get top marks for your efforts...especially with all the recent visits to your dentist. Sometimes certain areas just tend to bleed, especially around crowns. The salty taste you were experiencing could be coming from your saliva glands, one of which is on the inside of your cheek kind of near the top back. Like you said, your taste has improved since you've gone low carb....
Keep up the good work young lady!

I'm not long after flossing for the night and surely if there was any dental infection, there would be pus coming out on the floss.

I neglected the dentist for about a decade while at the same time abusing my mouth with a bad diet. All of that has been cleaned up and stepping up the diet with dental oral health in mind. I'm gone low carb, I drink loads of water, added in a dental/oral probiotic. Just after ordering a slow cooker from Amazon and I will be making bone broth next week when it arrives. Apparently it has health benefits including oral health benefits.

My doctors over the past decade has said that I need to lose weight (I'm s size 20 and apple) and they list of loads of problems that could arise like back problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

The only thing that has got my ass in gear cleaning up the diet is trying to mind my teeth and gums too. I'm down a dress size too.

I'm petrified of the dentist, absolutely petrified but I'm beginning to love my dentist too. Going to the dentist is getting easier with each visit.

That's fabulous news, OP!

You are a new woman!
And as an added bonus you're down a dress size, too! The best is yet to come...I bet you are really proud of all your new lifestyle changes for the sake of your health...I sure am proud of you!